Feeding of labels, sheets, and the like from a stack



A. G. ROSE July 14, 1953 2,645,373 FEEDING oF LABELS, sims, AND THE LIKE mou A STACK Filed Feb. 6, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l HG2 5y jm, l*

I ril-.4

ATTORNEY.

July 14, 1953 A. G. Ross 2,645,373

FEEDING OF LABELS, SHEETS, AND THE LIKE FROM A STACK Filed Feb. 6, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' INVENTOR ALFR FIG' 3. ED G ROSE ATTORNEY July 14, 1953 A. G. Ros:

FEEDING 0F LABELS, SHEETS, AND THE LIKE FROM A STACK Filed Feb. 6. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 \NvE-NTOR. ALFRED G. ROSE BY FIG.

Patented July 14, 1953 FEEDING OF LABELS, SHEETS, AND THE LIKE FROM A STACK Alfred German Rose, Gainsborough, England,

assignor to Rose Brothers (Gainsborough) Limited, Gainsborough, England, a British company Application February 6, 1951, Serial No. 209,557 In Great Britain February 17, 1950 1o claims. (c1. 21e-55) This invention relates to the feeding of labels, sheets, or the like (hereinafter referred to as labe1s) from a stack, and is particularly, though not exclusively, concerned with the feeding of labels in apparatus for labelling bottles or other containers (hereinafter referred to as bottles) In such apparatus, it is usual to extract the end label from `a stack in a magazine by means of a pick-up member which may seize the label by suction or by means of gum applied to the face of the member, the stack being resiliently urged towards the mouth of the magazine where it is held against the pressureA applied to thestack only by means of a series` of pins or similar retaining members arranged around the periphery of the magazine and projecting inwardly by an amount sufiicient to hold the stack but at the same time allowing the end label to be withdrawn by the pick-up member by delecting the edges of the label past the pins. It is some times found, however, that substantial resistance to extraction of the label by the pick-up member is encountered, presumably by reason of a jamming actionbetween the `forward end of the stack and the retaining pins. It is with this difculty that the presentl invention is. concerned.

According to the present invention labels are fed in succession from a magazine, in Whicha stack of labels are resiliently urged against a :series of retaining members, by depressing the lstack inwardly out. of ,contact with 4the retainfing members and, while the stack is, so depressed, seizing the end label by a` pick-up member and withdrawing at least. one edge vof the label `from the magazine, the pick-up member thenremoving the label from the magazine. In` this. manner, the only resistance to extraction of the. label is that offered by the deflection of the edge orV `edges of the label as it meets` the retaining members. The label may be seized by suction or by vgum applied to the operative face of the pick-up member. Y

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pick-up member is formed with suction openings and is divided along a line in its operative surface, the two` portions being mounted for pivotal movement about an axis coincident with the dividing line, the adjacent edges of the two portions being suitably bevelled away from the operative surface to allow for the pivotal movement. With such a construction, the depression of the stack is brought about by the pick-up member itself, e. g.,V by moving the stack intol engagement with. the Pikfup meinten and. while the stack is so depressed, the two portions of the pick-up member are pivoted outwardly so as to deilect the two ends of the end label away from the stack, the portions of the pick-up member adjacent the pivotal axis serving to hold the stack in depressed position in the meantime. Upon retraction of the stack, therefore, the end label is extracted with little resistance from the retaining members.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, as applied to a machine for labelling bottles or other cylindrical articles.

In the drawings:

Figures 1 and 2 are an elevation and plan, respectively, of a bottleelabelling machine,

Figures 3 and 4 are an elevation and plan,re spectively, of a portion of the machine, drawn to a larger scale,

Figure 5 is a plan of a detail of the machine showing the suction arrangement, and

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 5.

Briefly describing the machine with reference to Figures 1 and 2, a common rotatable support Il carries four suction pick-up members l2 and is mounted in a stationary pillar I3 secured to a base plate` I4, the support il being intermittently rotated as described below. The support I l carries each pick-up member l2 firstly into register vwith the end of a label stack Hl, carried in a horizontal magazine l 9, so as to seize a label by suction, then to an idle station where a further operation (e. g., a detecting operation) may be performed; then` to a gumming station at which a layer of gum is applied to the label on the pick-up member; and nally to a labelling station at which a conveyor 2| is arranged to carry a succession of bottles 22, spaced by a worm 23, past the common support l I. At this station, the foremost bottle 22 is rolled across the label on the pick-up member for the time being at that station so as to cause the label to be pressed on to the bottle, the rolling action being performed by a driven belt 24 mounted on a pair of pulleys 26 and 21, the pulley 21 being resiliently urged towards the conveyor by a spring 28 acting on an arm 29 carrying the pulley 21. After the labeling operation, the bottles 22 are passed.

on to a delivery table 3|.

The Various mechanisms constituting the whole machine will now be described in greater detail.

Pick-up members and driving gear Referring particularly toFigures 1 to 'lJ the common support H consists of a lower plate 32 (driven in the manner described below), a supporting pillar 33 secured to the plate 32 and an upper plate 34 secured to a spider 36 formed on the pillar 33 by means of studs 31 serving also toV space the plate 34 from the spider 36. The lower plate 32 is secured to a driving tube 35 mounted in bearings in the stationary pillar I3 and driven at its lower end by a Geneva mechanismllli,V 45, the member 48 o1 which isV driven pair of pulleys 92, the other end of the cable befrom the shaft 86 by a shaft 50 and bevel gearing The four pick-up members I2 are similar in construction and operation, each having an operative facing 38 of polytetrafluoroethylene formed with suction openings 39, the facing 38 Vbeing divided along a line 4|. Each part of the facing 38 is secured to an operating member 42 (43) pivotally mounted on the lower plate 32 and the upper plate 34 for mo-vement about an axis coincident with the line 4I. The operating member 42 (43) is formed with a suction chamber 44 (|44) fed by a suction line 46 (41). The

v chambers 44 (|44) in the members 42. (43) are covered by the two parts of the suction facing 38 so that suction is applied to the facing 38 from the two lines 46 and 41.

The members 42 (43) areeach pivotally connected by a link 48 to a common arm 49 pivotally mounted on the spider 36, a cam roller 51 being freely mounted on a stud 52 serving to connect the two links 48 to the arm 49. The cam roller is arranged to bear against the face of a Vcam 53 secured to a shaft 54 extending through the supporting pillar 33 and the driving tube 35, an operating arm 56 being secured to the lower end of the shaft 54. The arm 56 is connected by a link 51 to a pivoted arm 58 carrying a cam roller 59 arranged to bear against the face of a rotatable cam 6 I Suction connections members I2, are Vsupplied from a common port chamber constituted by Ythe lower plate 32, a lower port member'62 and a dividing plate 63, the common port ohamberbeing supplied from a main suction head 64. The various suction connections can best be seen from Figures 5 and 6'. Thus, a main suction line 66 is connected to the suction head 64 in which is formed an arcuate recess 61 from which 'suction is supplied through ports 68 and 69 in the lower member 672 .and the dividing plate 63, respectively, to a transverse port 1I formed in the lower plate 32 and terminating ina port 12 to which is'connected the suction line 46. Suction is also supplied from the recess 61 ythrough a port 13 and a transverse port 14 in the lower member 62 to a port 16 in the plate 63 and a port 11 in the lower plate 32 (see Figure 5) to which is connected the suction line 41, the .transverse ports 1| and 14 being separated by the plate 63.

Label magazine The label stack I8 is carried in the magazine I9 which is slidably mounted in a sldeway 18 mounted on the machine framework 80. The magazine I9 is caused to move towards and away from the pick up member i2 for'the time being n -at the label feeding station by means of a twoarmed pivoted lever 19, 8|, the arm 19 being connected to the base of the magazine by a link 82 while the arm 8| carries a cam roller 83 arranged to bear against the face of a rotatable cam 84 ing attached to the plate 81. The plate 81 is formed with an extension 93 arranged to slide in the framework of the magazine I9 and provided with ratchet teeth 94 on its upper surf-ace. A ratchet pavvl 96 pivoted in the framework of the magazine I9 is arranged to engage the teeth 94 of the extension 93 to prevent rearward movement of the plate 81.

Gummzny mechanism At the gumming station a layer of gum is applied to the label on the pick-up member by a gum-applying roller 96 mounted in a forked arm 91 arranged to slide in a pivoted slideway 98. The roller 96 is ysupplied with gum from a Ygum bath 99 by an intermediate roller I 6| and a main roller |02 rotatably mounted in the bath 99. The roller |02 is driven by chain and sprocket gearing |04 from a drive shaft |06, while the roller 96 is driven by gearing |01 from the roller |02. The intermediate roller IOI is carried by pairs of links |08 and |09 connecting the axis of the gum bath 99 with the axis of the roller 96, thus ensuring continuous engagement between the gearing |01. Sliding movement of the arm 91 is brought about by an eccentric III mountedon the shaft |06 and connected by a link II2 to the arm 91. The slideway 98 is pivoted on the shaft |06 and is caused to rock by means of a pivoted arm I3 connected to the slideway 98 by a link I|4 and carrying a cam roller |I6 arranged to bear against the face of a cam |I1 mounted on the shaft I06. The shaft |06 is driven from the shaft 86 by a cross shaft Y |00 and bevel gearing |05. The shape of the cam |I1 and its timed relationship with the eccentric III are such that the combined movements of the arm 91 and slideway 98 causes Vthe roller 96 first to roll down the face of the label to apply gum thereto, and then move away from the pick-up member I2 before making its return movement. Y

Operation Y From the above description of the apparatus,

'..it will be clear that, while one label is being withdrawn from the stack I8, another is being gummed at the. gumming station while a third is being transferred to the bottle 22. passing the l l labelling station.

Vlabel-feeding station. As the member I2 comes to rest'under the action of the Geneva mechanism 40, 45, the magazine I9 is moved by the cam 84 to press the stack I8 against the facing 38 of the member I2, and to press the end of the stack I8 away from the retaining pins 88. Durr ing this action, suction is applied to the chamhere imf and.I |44 through the lines` 4s and arfrom the arcuate recess (ilA in the suction head 64 so as to cause the facing 38` to seize the end label arm IIS` to pivotinwardly under the action of a spring |221 Such movement of the arm 49, through the links 4B,` causes the two operating members 42 and 43 to pivot about the line 4|, thus causing the two parts of the facing 38 to withdraw opposite edges of the end label in the stack clear of the pins 88. It will thus be seen that the only resistance to extraction of the label from the stack is that offered by the deflection of the opposite edges of the label as they meet the pins 38.

With the label thus deflected by the facing 38, the magazine I9 is withdrawn clear of the facing 38, and the support rotated to an idle station (where .a detecting operation may be performed on the label if desired), the cam roller 5| riding on to the outer surface of the cam 53 `during such movement to cause the two parts ofl the facing 38 to return to their normal positions.

The cam 53 is also returned to its normal position during this movement.

The support Il is then moved to carry the pick-up member l2 to the gumming station where the roller 9E, operating in the manner described above, applies a layer of gum to the label on the facing 38. A further movement of the support then carries the pick-up member l2 to the labelling station where a bottle 22 is rolled across the facing 38 by the pressure of the belt 24 to cause the bottle to pick the label off the facing 38.

Suction is applied to the chamber |44 continuously from the label-feeding station to the labelling station from the arcuate recess 61, but as the pick-up member closely approaches the labelling station, the port 58 moves out of the Vinfluence of the recess 6l and into register with this manner, while the label is still held `to the facing 38 by the suction applied to the chamber |44, air under pressure passes from the port |23 through the ports 58, 69 and to the chamber 44, thus assisting the removal of the label from the facing 38 by the bottle 22.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding labels from a stack, comprising a magazine in which the stack is resiliently urged against a series of retaining members, a pick-up member adapted to seize the end label in the stack, said pick-up member being divided along a straight line in its operative surface, means for causing a relative movement between the pick-up member and the magazine so as to cause engagement between the pickup member and the stack by which the stack is depressed inwardly out of Contact with the retaining members, means for pivoting at least one portion of the pick-up member about an axis coincident with said line after the seizing action and while the stack is so depressed so as to withdraw at least one edge of the label from the magazine, and means for causing the pick-up member subsequently to withdraw the label from the magazine.

2: Apparatus asfinclaim 1, comprising suction apertures: in the operative face of the pick-up member, and` means for applying suction to the apertures so` as to causethe pick-up member to seizethelabel by suction.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein both portions of the pickeup member are adapted to pivot simultaneously about said' axis.

41 Apparatus as` in claim 1 wherein the pickup` member is` adapted to remain stationary duringthe depression` of the stack, the relative movement being brought about by moving the magazine toward the pick-up member, and wherein bothportionsof` the pick-up member are adapted. to; pivot` simultaneously about said axis.

5. Method of feeding labels in succession from a magazine in which a stack of labels are resiliently urged against a series of retaining members, comprising depressing the stack inwardly out of contact with the retaining members by seizing pressure between the end label of the stack and a pick-up surface that is divided along a straight line in its surface and, while the stack is so depressed and the label seized by the surface, pivoting at least one portion of the pickup surface about an axis coincident with said line so as to withdraw at least one edge of the end label from the magazine, a relative movement then being brought about between the pick-up surface and the magazine to cause the pick-up surface to remove the label seized by that surf ace from the magazine.

6. Method as in claim 5, wherein suction is applied to the pick-up surface to seize the label.

'7. A machine for labelling bottles or other cylindrical articles, comprising a conveyor adapted to receive the articles in denite spaced relationship, a magazine for containing a stack of labels, means for resiliently urging the stack towards a series of retaining members in the mouth of the magazine, a rotatable pick-up member adapted to seize the end label in the stack, the pick-up member being divided along a straight line in its operative surface, means for causing a relative movement between the pickup member and the magazine so as to cause engagement between the pick-up member and the stack by which the stack is depressed inwardly out of contact with the retaining members, means for pivoting at least one portionof the pick-up member about an axis coincident with said line after the seizing action and while the stack is so depressed s0 as to withdraw at least one edge of the label from the magazine, means for intermittentlyrotating the pick-up member in timed relationship with the conveyor so as to carry the label towards a label-applying station adjacent the conveyor, means for rendering the label adhesive while it is held by the pick-up member, and means for causing the label to be transferred to an article on the conveyor.

8. A machine as in claim '7, comprising suction apertures in the operative faceof the pick-up member, and means for applying suction to the apertures so as to cause the pick-up member to seize the label by suction.

9. A machine as in claim 8 wherein the pickup member is adapted to remain stationary during the depression of the stack, the relative movement being brought about by moving the magazine toward the pick-up member, and` wherein both'portions of the pick-up member are adapted to pivot simultaneously about said axis.r

10. A machine as in claim 7, comprising a series of pick-up members mounted on a common support arranged for intermittent rotation to carry the pick-up members in successionV through label-feeding, gumrning and labelling stations, each piek-up member having both portions arranged for simultaneous pivotal movement about their `dividing line, means for applying suction individually to the portions of the pick-up members, means for rolling the successive articles along the gummed labels held by the successive piek-up members at the label-applying station, means for cutting off the suction applied to those portions of the pick-up members rst encountered by the articles as those portions closely approach the label-applying station, and means for ALFRED GERMAN ROSE.

, Number lo 1,689,756 v 2,257,785 2,279,844

Number Y Name Date Ashley Oct. 4, 1870 Kent June 13, 1911 Fanke June 20, 1911 Halberg Nov.`23, 1915 Burghardt July 19, 1921 SWangren Oct. 30, 1928 Carter Oct. '7, 1941 Smith et al. Apr. 14, -1942 Magnusson Jan. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date. Great Britain July 12, 1912 Great Britain Nov. 15, 1926. 

